Award winning Irish Parenting and Family Food blog

Post navigation

Hey lovelies, So what does mammy really want for Mothers day? Top of my list would be a lie in! Give me diamonds, give me gold, give me a lie-in, now that is gold dust. And just imagine while I … Continue reading →

Hey lovelies, Welcome to this weeks #MealplanMonday👩‍🍳 My spend this week is €60 in Lidl Ireland. I find By working out our weekly food spend I know exactly where we stand each month. we waste less food have less food … Continue reading →

Hey lovelies As part of #mealplanmonday👩‍🍳 I wanted to add at least one veggie dish to our weekly menu. By doing this we are cutting the cost of the overall budget while uping our vegetable intake for the week. So … Continue reading →

Hey lovelies Welcome to week one of #mealplanmonday👩‍🍳 Meal planning is a huge part of our community and With our new hashtag, we can interact, get ideas and inspire each other. While sharing tips on saving money on our weekly … Continue reading →

Hey lovelies,Meal planning has become a huge part of our home cooks Ireland group I feel it’s time we had our own hashtag.. #mealplanmonday👩‍🍳 ( you need to add the cook as that’s what will make it unique to us) … Continue reading →

January can be a bit of a downer of a month for most of us now that the festivities ended. The decorations have a little less sparkle and are ready for the attic, our jeans are no longer our old reliable buddy (hello January, hello leggings) and the month’s finances either belongs to the credit card bill or the overdraft.

I always find A simple 4-week meal plan can be a lifesaver to get through the first few weeks of the year, without overstretching any little funds that are left.

Below I have posted my simple meal plan for the month(click on each recipe to be brought to it).

All the recipes cost well below €10, feed a family of 4, have been all tried and tested by families across the nation and been giving the thumbs up from the smallies.

Any extra days at the end of the month we just make our family favourtes again.

For example, we would usually have carbonara, chicken curry in a hurry and sausage casserole at the end of the month again as these 3 recipes are pretty much staples in our house and are good ones for using up any fridge or cupboard perishables.

I have found by working out our weekly spend on food we know exactly where we stand each month and have less food waste and any money left over I can have a wee treat.

I have a few extra budget busting tips to help you save even more money below:

1 , Go to the ” reduced” section in the fridge first at the start of your food shop. These items are still perfect and in date on the day. I always find cod pieces, chicken breasts and mince in this section and pop them straight into the freezer when I get home.

2, Get out your budget in cash before your food shop, there is more chance you won’t go over it that way.

3, Bring bags!!! or take them out of the car, I don’t know how many times I’ve been really frugal with shop and then to blow it at the end with spending a fiver on bags at the checkout.

5, Only buy non-persable “free” offers like buy one get one free, otherwise, the free one will most likely end up in the bin and is a total waste.

6, When doing up your meal plan try add-in meals that do double meals, like spag boll leftovers become chili or leftover stews and curry can become pies by just adding a simple puff pastry lid another day.

any money left over, Treat your self! Get that something you fancy for your self. It’s about living well for less, still enjoying delicious meals as a family but just being a little mindful of the spending.

ps. We have a home cooks Ireland facebook group that is full of meal plans and budget saving tips on living well for less. Come join us here.

My Cookbook “One yummy mummy, family Food made easy” is sweeping the nation with raving reviews you can buy it worldwide here

Hey, lovelies, I know I know, I haven’t posted on the blog in over 3 weeks! That,s been the longest I’ve ever gone without posting, life just went a little a little crazy once the cookbook was released. I’ll be honest it’s … Continue reading →

The past few weeks have been like that famous scene from the wizard of Oz.. You know the one were Dothery,s house gets caught up in the tornado and she wakes up in technicolor. Yep “ Dorothy you are no … Continue reading →

Hey, lovelies, The most common question I’ve ever get asked is ” How do I get a fussy child to eat? With my experience of being a nanny/ childminder for over 18 years, I may have a few tricks up my … Continue reading →

Hey, lovelies, I’m delighted to announce that I’m going to be part of the line up in the red line book festival 2018. The Red Line Book Festival is a celebration of all things literary; be it spoken, written, sung, … Continue reading →

Hey, lovelies, when I created “Home cooks Ireland” my main mission was to get a positive little group together to share recipes and swap ideas on home cooking. At the time I was getting loads of beautiful photos sent to … Continue reading →